THE CUBA R E V I E W 



31 



AGRICULTURAL MATTERS 



BEE-KEEPING IN THE ORIENTE 



D. W. ^Millar and his partner have ex- 

 perimented and studied bee-keeping in the 

 tropics for fourteen years. They write 

 interestingly in Gleanings in Bee Culture 

 regarding their failures and successes in 

 Oriente Province, Cuba. They say : 



"On account of the difference between 

 bee-keeping in the North and in the tropics, 

 about all we know we have had to figure 

 out for ourselves. All our new blood, 

 which we believe in introducing regularly, 

 is pure Italian, although we prefer the dark 

 leather-colored bee, which comes from a 

 pure queen mating with a hybrid drone. 

 They have the three distinct bands, but 

 cannot be pure, although they pass as such. 

 However, we make no special effort to 

 breed for them, as we keep our apiaries as 

 nearly pure as is possible, where there are 

 so many black bees in the country. We 

 make our hives, after the pattern of the 

 ordinary American single-walled hive, out 

 of native cedar, and all other wood parts 

 the same. 



"Many long methods for moving colonies 

 from one location to another have been 

 given, but we find here the simplest and 

 best way is to move the hive at night, and 

 to place a bottom-board or some notice- 

 able object in front of the entrance for 

 the next day. 



"We use but little smoke, and try to 

 raise quiet bees. If we have a bad colony 

 we kill the queen and try another. Queens 

 of our own rearing are cheap, and are 

 good for only about two years here, any- 

 way. In working here we dress for com- 

 fort regardless of bees. Veils, gloves, etc., 

 are in the way for fast work, and too 

 warm. When, through our negligence, 

 oversight, or overwork we have a swarm. 

 it is brought back on our arm or in our 

 hat. Don't understand that we are im- 

 mune to bee-stings, but they are few, and 

 of no consequence except for the instant. 



"We do not shade our hives except in 

 locating an apiary. We select a place 

 where there are a few young palms, and 

 perhaps some other small trees. Hives are 

 placed on two bricks, flat, one at each end. 

 Everything is removed from the apiary, 

 and Bermuda grass planted. It grows fast, 

 is short, cannot be killed, and ants dislike it. 



"For robbers we use pure creoline, ap- 

 plied with a feather at the ends and on 

 sides of the hive. For brood-rearing, with 

 our Italians we note no difference day in 

 and dav out except that they usually let 

 up for about 30 days from the middle of 

 January to the middle of February. 



"We'figure the average yield of extracted 



honey per colony per year in this section 

 at 30 gallons. The lowest I know about 

 being 15 and the best 45 gallons. Cuban 

 lioney has had a black eye in the past ; but 

 it is not all alike, for we can market as 

 o'ood 'IS there is. There are few modern 

 bee-k_epers, with modern machinery, here, 

 the larger per cent of bees being still kept 

 in logs. Consequently, in the past a lot of 

 honey has been shipped in very bad shape; 

 but present pure-food laws should tend to 

 remedy this." 



WANTED 

 Cuban land, for clear vacant, 25xl25-ft. lot; 

 value $1,200, in Chicago, Illinois, U. S. A.; gas, 

 water, sewer and sidewalk in. Located 40th 

 Avenue, which is well built up, and half block 

 south of North Avenue, a business street. Elec- 

 tric car line passes property, three other lines 

 within half block and five minutes from elevated 

 railroad. Send description to A. H. Newcomb, 

 owner, 1944 West 21st Street, Chioago. 



Ilenequen sets ready for planting 



